


These Two

by AzuraJae



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Spoilers for Episode 39
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 21:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14941688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzuraJae/pseuds/AzuraJae
Summary: In which a ‘little’ accident happens out on a mission and Mitsuki learns that he should treasure himself more.





	1. Preservation

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit of a short two-chapter fic that I will be posting consecutively in that manner. It's a little bit of a character study into Mitsuki's relationship with his two teammates. I had a lot of fun writing this out, though I apologize if there are any grammar or misspellings, I had no Beta to read this time around. 
> 
> Spoilers for Episode 39.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

It had happened to be a normal mission. Supposedly, it was fairly high-ranked, but it was nothing that his team couldn’t handle. They were to catch a gaggle of rogue ninja bandits who have made off with some valuables from a neighboring village. The bandits have been harassing the poor village and the new Team 7 were given the task of apprehending them.

So far, most of the work had already been done. Four out of the six bandits were dispatched with ease, it was clear that they weren’t very well versed in ninjutsu. However, there were two bandits that seemed to be holding their own very well. When they were subduing and restraining the defeated four, the two made their escape.

“You three go ahead and catch up to them.” Konohamaru told the three. “I’ll take care of these guys.”

“Alright!” Boruto exclaimed excitedly. He was eager to finally get an exciting mission after all those random escort and babysitting missions. Without a moment to lose, Boruto leapt after them, sprinting through the trees.

“Hey, wait! Idiot Boruto!” Sarada called after him, following soon after. “Don’t go off on your own!”

Mitsuki merely smiled to himself and hopped after them. His teammates were most interesting. He would take note of how they handled this situation, especially his sun.

When Mitsuki caught up with Boruto and Sarada, the bandits hopped down to a gully, hoping to lose them in the uneven footing. In spite of hopping down, having the high ground made it easy for the three to box them in and keep them from escaping. Although it seemed like a poor sense of judgement, Mitsuki sensed that one of them was a user of Earth Release. Having them stand on uneven ground would put it in their advantage even if they were on the high ground.

“There’s nowhere to run, give yourself up.” Sarada said with an air of superiority, pushing up her glasses. 

“That’s what you think.” One of the bandits replied, his lip curling in half a smirk. Even before the man moved, Mitsuki had sensed he was going to use Earth Release.

As quick as a striking snake, Mitsuki launched himself towards the man, startling him as he gave a swift kick to the man’s torso, causing him to sprawl on the ground. As he stood watching the man on the ground, he knew that the other man was readying to attack, but Boruto was soon on him with a kunai in hand. 

Suddenly, the ground began to shift underneath him and Mitsuki quickly hopped up to the higher ground to try escape the shifting ground, but found himself sinking down. Sarada appeared, fist in the air and aimed straight at the man.

“Cha!” she shouted, punching the ground at the man’s feet, causing the ground to cave underneath him. The bandit was terrified of Sarada’s strength and flinched when she approached him, cracking her knuckles. 

Mitsuki turned around to see how Boruto was doing and saw that he was engaged in in a weapons fight with the other bandit. Analyzing the scrolls at the bandit’s hips, Mitsuki knew that the bandit knew Bukijutsu and was quite good at it as well. Compared to all the other bandits put together, Mitsuki felt that perhaps, this one was the most dangerous. Maybe, it was time to get a little serious?

Boruto was soon knocked back by a surprise kick by the bandit and he landed on his back to the gully wall. As soon as Mitsuki saw the man pull out his scroll, he knew that it was trouble. Mitsuki knew, Boruto won’t have enough time to react. As he suspected, the man summoned a giant spear-like weapon and hurled it at Boruto, who had just started getting back up from being knocked back.

Before Boruto could even react, Mitsuki had jumped in front of him and warpping the spears handle with his soft physique technique. Though at that moment, Mitsuki realized that he had underestimated how powerful the throw was. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach area as the spear dug through his body. Thankfully, Mitsuki was positioned in a way that the spear did not touch anything vital, but it still hurt, but at least he wouldn’t die.

“Mitsuki!” Boruto exclaimed, jumping on his feet behind him.

Looking up, Mitsuki trembled a bit as he endured the sharp pain in his stomach and looked at the man with a sly smile as he pulled out the spear and tossed it on the ground. The man flinched, his face flickering with fear, and pulled out another scroll, but before he could do anything, a blur suddenly smacked into him, sending him into the gully walls.

To his right, Mitsuki had saw that Sarada had thrown the other bandit at the other one, effectively taking them out together. It’s unlikely that they would be able to regain consciousness after such a brutal throw. Seeing situation settle, Mitsuki suddenly felt the pressing feeling in his stomach, finding himself falling on his knees. Oops. He had underestimated how powerful the throw really was.

“Oi, Mitsuki!” Boruto clambered to his side, his hands hovering by his side, unsure what to do. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Boruto.” Mitsuki responded, looking at Boruto with unblinking eyes. “I won’t die.”

Boruto looked at him at disbelief. Sarada had approached him and adjusted her glasses looking at the wound. She seemed concerned, but instead of panicking she seemed to be trying to analyze the situation. 

“It looks pretty bad.” she finally said, touching Mitsuki lightly by the shoulder. “Stay here, I’ll get Sensei.” She turned to Boruto. “Take care of him, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Mitsuki watched Sarada run off and Boruto gave him a look. “Don’t be so reckless, Mitsuki. I could have dodged that easily.”

“You wouldn’t have.” Mitsuki responded cheerfully. At that moment, his body didn’t seem to agree with him and he buckled back. Thankfully, Boruto reacted in time and managed to grab his head before it hit the ground.

“What did I say?” Boruto said, after carefully putting his friend’s head to the ground.. He crossed his arms. “You know, you always seems to be getting injured more than the rest of us. Treasure yourself more will you?”

Mitsuki blinked at him blankly. “Treasure myself?”

“Yeah, I know we gotta have each other’s backs, but it’s not fun seeing you getting injured for our sake all the time.” Boruto explained, ripping a piece of his sleeve and pressing on Mitsuki’s wound, trying to stop the bleeding. “Think about how we feel seeing you like this.”

How interesting. Mitsuki thought. He never thought of it that way, the thought never occurred to him. He smiled at Boruto, who in return gave him a rather disturbed look. As expected, his sun always thought of things that never even popped into his mind.

The approaching footsteps announced the arrival of Konohamaru and Sarada. Konohamaru had gotten straight to properly bandaging the wound. As he was being treated, Mitsuki watched Sarada and Boruto carefully. Both of them had worried looks on their face, even though he had told them that he wouldn’t die.

He didn’t quite understand at first, but Mitsuki realized that he must be quite important to them. But of course, he was their friend after all. He nodded to himself, how could he have never made the connection?

“I understand.” he suddenly said, seemingly startling his teammates and teacher. “I think I shall treasure myself a little more.”

Boruto seemed a bit confused by his sudden and belated answer, but after a moment he grinned. “As long as you get it.”

Although Sarada was out of the loop, she caught on quickly.  “Team 7 won’t be the same without you, Mitsuki.” She gave him a smile. She had always been quite perceptive.

Konohamaru didn’t say anything, but he seemed pleased by the outcome of his situation and worked on tending to Mitsuki's injuries. 

Mitsuki nodded to himself. He really couldn’t imagine doing anything without them anymore. Even if he was Orochimaru's son, he really couldn't see himself going back home for any reason at all. They had become a part of his life. He would like to stay by their side for as long as he could.

Boruto had always been gratifying to watch and learn from, ever since he had laid eyes on him all that time ago. He didn't know much about life at the time, he didn't really know much about life. He was an experiment, of course, he never really had a proper life to begin with. Thinking about it, Mitsuki has only been awake for really a few years, spending most of his life developing in a tube before being thrust into the tests by his parent to gain a supposed necessary power. Seeing those papers about Boruto really lit a light in the darkness of his life. He wasn't quite sure that he really had a purpose being alive, but he was sure to find it if he stayed by Boruto's side.

As for Sarada, Mitsuki didn't care much about her at first, seeing her simply as another person around Boruto, but as he observed her, Mitsuki started seeing her more as a teammate. She didn't inspire him as much as Boruto did, but Mitsuki often found himself learning from her too. She was different than Boruto, she never missed a beat and had an interesting heritage. He heard stories about how her father had worked with Orochimaru long time ago, though not the exact details. He wondered if this was perhaps an expy of their relationship.

Yes, yes, there was still a lot more he could learn from these two.

He chuckled a bit. These two really are the most interesting.


	2. Treasured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But there are things he would treasure more than his life.

Mitsuki knew that the situation at hand was extremely dire. Even though they outnumbered the enemy three to one, this opponent was a powerful one. He even outclassed his Sage Transformation. He himself was running on fumes, thanks to his chakra being sucked dry due to a prior attack, he didn’t even have enough energy to even transform.

He glanced at Boruto and Sarada, who were panting heavily, suffering quite heavy injuries. He squinted his eyes as he analyzed their wounds. They wouldn’t last long like this, but knowing his two teammates, they wouldn’t give up until they were dead. It was an observation he had made all these years being their teammate. Mitsuki smiled to himself. They really were the most interesting.

As the shadow of their enemy approached, their eyes cutting through the foliage like blades. 

“He’s coming.” commented Sarada, clutching the kunai she had ready in her hand. “We won’t survive another attack like that.”

“Damn it.” cursed Boruto, taking out his katana. “I won’t let it end here.”

Watching them, Mitsuki felt himself get energized. He readied himself, glaring at their new arrival. How much chakra did he have left? Could he muster another jutsu? Or would he start to become a victim of severe chakra exhaustion? Mitsuki clutched his stomach, where he had been brutally hit before. If only he had avoided that attack earlier. 

“Boruto, I’ll create an opening and you attack.” Sarada said to her two comrades. “Mitsuki follow up if you’re up for it.”

“Of course.” responded Mitsuki.

With that, Sarada ran at the man, throwing several kunai, which he deflected at ease with his own kunai. While he was deflecting, Sarada appeared above him, readying her fist for a punch. The man leapt back, avoiding her attack and Boruto appeared with a Rasengan, but instead he retaliated with his own lightning jutsu, hitting them both and throwing them violently back in force. Mitsuki couldn’t even react in time, but stood and watched in quiet shock as the man approached his friends to finish them off.

Mitsuki took a step forward, but he knew that even with his superior speed, he wouldn’t be able to make it in time to bring Boruto and Sarada out of attack. He was too weak at the moment to try use his soft physique at such a distance. 

He closed his eyes, analyzing the possibilities and in an instant, a plan had formed in his mind. But...did he want to do it? But it if it was for for Boruto...

The man was already readying another attack, approaching Boruto and Sarada who had just gotten their bearings back. Mitsuki knew that he had no time left to think of another plan. He quickly gathered all the chakra he had left in his feet, launching himself forward at an incredibly speed at the man. The man, startled by the sudden movement by Mitsuki, turned to meet him just in time.

Mitsuki tried to exhaust the rest of his chakra into another attack now that he was there, but the man already had a jutsu in his hands. Instead of attacking Sarada and Boruto, the man turned his attack on Mitsuki.

There was a small explosion and Mitsuki felt a burst of pain all across his body as he felt himself being flung back. He was startled when something hard hit his back and then gave way. He realized that he had been thrown through some trees, effectively breaking them on the way. By the time he settled, Mitsuki had lost the feeling in most of his body. Only a dull aching daze was all that remained.

His vision was already getting blurry and his ears were pumping with the sound of his own blood. Mitsuki opened his mouth, trying to take a breath, but instead something tangy and warm dripped from his mouth. He found himself choking on it.

As he lay there in a mangled mess of blood and debris, Mitsuki’s muddled mind tried to process what happened again. He had attacked when the man was about to attack his friends. Instead of his friends, the man attacked him with the finishing blow instead. If Mitsuki could sigh, he would have, his friends were out of harm’s way, at least for the moment.

However, Mitsuki also knew that he probably only had a few more moments left to live. He hadn’t even the strength to lift his head to see the situation at hand, his body just refused to work.

As he lay there, rapidly losing his sense of awareness, for some reason, he found his mind wandering back to a time long ago, when he had gotten injured in a mission way back when.

Boruto had scolded him about treasuring himself more. After seeing his teacher and teammates so worried about him, he had realized how much he actually meant to them. From then on, Mitsuki had done his best to treasure himself a bit more. 

He wish he could apologize to Boruto and Sarada, but nothing but blood leaked from his lips. 

As darkness began to seep into his vision, his memories seemed to flash in the back of his mind as his mind began to dull. Mitsuki found his eyes watering a little bit, which was surprising, but he couldn’t control himself. His composure seemed to be lost in the carnage of his mind and body.

Most of his memories; they always had those two in them. Every which way he looked in his memories, he found Boruto and Sarada standing by his side. His muddled mind started to sink into the darkness; he could see their cheerful smiles.  As the reality began to sink in, his eyes began to water even more, but he couldn’t tell if the warmth running down his cheeks were blood or tears. It didn’t really matter anyway.

But. 

He would miss them. Boruto... and Sarada too.

As he began to take his last few strained breaths of air, he suddenly could make out two shapes bobbing in the distance, running towards towards him. Red...and black. Even though he couldn’t hear anymore, he knew that his name was being called.

Mitsuki smiled to himself, genuinely, recognizing his two friends were coming to his aide. The darkness began to finally settle in and his eyelids began to droop involuntarily. Mitsuki tried his best to fight off the impending darkness, but he barely had enough strength to keep his eyes open. In his last fragments of vision, Mitsuki wondered if he really could see Boruto's face, looking down at him.

_ “...What a shame.” _ he thought, closing his eyes, letting the smile fade a little bit.  _ “I would have liked to live a bit longer.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sort of written this second chapter for my own gratification. I really like to write angsty things, I just couldn't help myself. Somehow, honestly, I really can see Mitsuki giving up his life for Boruto and by extension Sarada. Like maybe even as a plot point in the future, like in the Boruto Shippuden phase.
> 
> This fic was also sliiightly shippy, becuase I am a fan of BoruMitsu, but I'm more in love with their dynamic and relationship. I just feel like Mitsuki really does care about Boruto a lot, more than your average person would. I mean the most recent episode at this time of writing (Episode 62) quite proves it methinks xD
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoyed this fic. Or maybe not, because it didn't really have a good ending.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I have flupped Mitsuki's personality in this first part, but I tried hard to make it sound like Mitsuki. This is just the first part, so I hope you'll take the chance to read the second chapter :)


End file.
